OGM to Provide Recommendations to Legislators on Brine Mining

In 2024, the Utah Legislature passed House Bill 433 to address brine mining, which involves extracting valuable compounds or elements from groundwater. HB 433 mandates the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to conduct a study and make recommendations to the legislature on multiple mineral development of brines, excluding those in the Great Salt Lake, and solution mining of salt to create subterranean cavern space for storing liquids or gas. 

Utah has an extensive history of recovering minerals from underground brines. Intrepid Potash, for example, has produced potash near Moab and Wendover, Utah. Domestic production of potash from the Wendover location began during World War I, and potash production near Moab began in the early 1960s. When only single-leasable minerals were being extracted, existing laws were sufficient to regulate production.

Utah is one of only three states that produce potash, primarily used as a fertilizer. Potassium chloride, the main component of potash, is an essential plant nutrient along with nitrogen and phosphorus. Additionally, the chemical industry uses potash to produce soap, glass, ceramics, and batteries.

In 2020, US Magnesium became Utah’s first lithium producer, recovering lithium as a byproduct of magnesium production. With the growing demand for lithium batteries, Utah's potential resources have become targets for lithium exploration. Current exploration is focused on brines in the Great Salt Lake Desert (Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley), the Paradox Basin, and the Great Salt Lake. Recent exploration has also occurred near Green River, Utah.

As the demand for lithium and other saleable products from brine increases, new issues have arisen, particularly regarding mineral ownership. On federally owned land, mineral ownership is divided into three groups: locatable, leasable, and saleable. Under the Mining Law of 1872, as modified, parties can locate and develop locatable minerals, such as lithium, by staking a mineral claim. In Utah, claim holders must obtain permits from both federal and state agencies. Operators must also obtain a lease from the federal government to mine leasable minerals. Operators must obtain permits from state agencies on private land, and on state land, they must secure a mineral lease and associated permits.

Conflicts can occur when one operator has a lease to recover leasable minerals, such as potash, and another has a claim to recover locatable minerals, such as lithium. Division staff are developing recommendations for legislators on new laws that would give the Board of Oil, Gas and Mining the tools to manage and create various concurrent surface and subsurface brine resources. These laws would enable the Board to adjudicate and resolve multiple mineral development conflicts among brine operators, helping to protect correlative rights.

Division staff are working with several agencies, including the Attorney General’s Office, Utah Trust Lands Administration, the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, the Division of Water Rights, the Division of Environmental Quality, the Utah Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Land Management. The House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee will review the recommendations by their October 2024 interim meeting.